Folding machine



June 23, 1970 A. sTossL ET AL 3,516,582

FOLDING MACHINE Filed April '7, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 25 r J q 25 r j H1 -49 Q g 9 2 7 10 14 w L 1 I 20 4 A "11 a 10 INVENTOR fi 49 ARNOLD $TOSSl 46 42 JOSEF ElCHBER-GEF.

" ATTORNEY June 23, 1970 A. s'rOssL ET AL 3,516,582

FOLDING MACHINE Filed April '7, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ARNOLD sTOssL JOSEF EICHBERGER 0 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,516,582 FOLDING MACHINE Arnold Stossl, Neustift Gasse 131, Vienna VII, Austria, and Josef Eichberger, Baden, near Vienna, Austria; said Eichberger assignor to said Stossl Filed Apr. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 814,092 Claims priority, application Austria, Apr. 11, 1968, A 3,614/68 Int. Cl. A41h 33/00 US. Cl. 223-37 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A folding machine for strip-shaped textile materials, such as stockings comprises a folding fork turntable about a horizontal axis, means for feeding the strip-shaped material between the tines of the fork, and a drive for rotating the fork to thereby fold the textile material on the fork to a width equal to that of the fork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a machine for folding strip-shaped textile material, particularly stockings.

Description of the prior art There are already known folding machines for folding stockings but these generally require high initial investment. Moreover, they also usually require the attendance of the operators for a considerable time. Accordingly the installation and use of these machines are usually quite costly.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a machine for the above purpose which is of simple and inexpensive construction and which can be operated economically.

According to the invention the new machine comprises a folding fork which is held turnably about a horizontal axis in a supporting structure, there being further provided a conveyor for feeding strip-shaped fabric material, such as pairs of stockings, inbetween the tines of the fork, and a drive by means of which the fork can be rotated for folding the fabric to a width equivalent to the width of the fork.

A special and additional advantage of such machines is that their construction permits the operations to be performed manually, semi-automatically or fully automatically. For this reason the new machines may be used in the smallest as well as in the largest manufacturing plants.

Further features of the invention and the advantages thereof will become clearer from the following description which refers to the attached drawings showing one form of the invention embodied in a machine for folding stockings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematical representation of the described machine and its accessories, the drawing being a plan view;

FIG. 2 is a practical embodiment of the folding arrangement, shown in an elevation;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the use of an adjustable fork; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the use of a plurality of differentsize, interchangeable forks.

The machine shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a transport table 1 in the form of a four-sided plate which is swingable about a vertical pivotable mounting axis 2 be- "ice tween two extreme positions 1 and 1". One of the longer edges of plate 1 (i.e. the edge which faces the turning axis of the table), is provided with a cutout 5 of rectangular shape. In position 1, the folding equipment 6 is in register with the said cutout; and in position 1" (which is swung through as againstthe first-mentioned position), it is disposed adjacent to, with one of the shorter edges of the table plate being opposite, a conveyor means, e.g., a conveyor band 3.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the folding equipment 6 comprises a flat folding fork 7 which comprises two tines 8 (the number of tines may be more, e.g. three tines), which fork may be connected fixedly or change ably with a shaft 9 rotatably journalled in a supporting structure 22 of the machine.

The fork is positioned between two symetrically disposed spade-shaped jaws 10 from which jaws there extend, in the vicinity of shaft 9, outwardly directed lugs 11. Each of these jaws is connected with the lug to one of two levers 12 at one end of the latter. The opposite ends of levers 12 are hingedly connected with one of two brackets 13, these brackets extending from a sleeve 14 which sleeve is slidable on shaft 9. Both levers 12 are biased for opposite movement, i.e. towards each other, by means of a spring 15 extending between the levers and attached thereto. The two jaws 10 are also spring-biased since, at each of the ends thereof which extends beyond the lugs 11 (at 18), there is provided tension spring 17 affixed at 16 to the outwardly extending ends of extensions of levers 12. This construction permits the jaws to be positioned parallel to one another and to apply themselves to the fork at different distances between themselves and between the jaws and the fork. Spring 15 pulls both levers 12 toward each other against forces generated at the instant or turning the fork, which forces act periodically, causing the jaws to move the maximum distance from one another, according to the Width of the folding fork.

The two jaws, which can be swung about a pivot point 19 and which act as two-armed levers, are pressed springily against the folding fork 7, whereby uniform pressure on the fork is provided even if the latter is tapered. Incidentally, the jaws 10 could be guided in parallel in another way, say by double-levers or the like. Acting on sleeve 14 is a connecting rod 20 which is connected to a pedal 21 arranged in the machine structure 22. Sleeve 14, and therewith the two jaws 10, can be moved axially on shaft 9 by operating the pedal and thereby can be withdrawn from the fork.

It should be mentioned here that the jaws might be withdrawn from the fork in another manner, say by swinging them or folding them upwardly or the like.

The drive of the machine is provided by a motor 23 which can be switched on or off by means of a switch 24 and which drives shaft 9 by means of a chain drive, V- belt, or gear wheels. The drive is controlled in such a way that the folding fork is put into rotation during a certain period of time and at the end of that period is always in horizontal position.

To permit the swinging of the table from its position 1" (wherein it is held releasably, for example, by means of a spring biased pawl 4) to its position 1', the fork 9 should be turned into its vertical position (i.e., a turn through 90) so that the plate of the table could pass between the two tines. This can be obtained by a ratchet wheel 25 which can be turned by a ratchet 26 and a rod 27 by operating the pedal 28.

Co-ordinated with table 1 is a supply roller 29, the latter may be fitted with a photo-cell (not shown) or the like to rotate roller 29 whenever a ray of light directed against the photo-cell is interrupted by a piece of textile material. Supply roller 29 is preceded by a roller 30 from which a packing foil can be reeled oif. Behind the supply roller there is provided a conveyor 31 which leads to a welding arrangement (not illustrated) for plastic foils.

The machine described functions as follows: The pair of stockings (or other fabric) is conveyed via the feeding means 3 onto the table 1 which is now in position 1". Here the position of the stockings is adjusted, and the table is swung into position 1. As a consequence, the pair of stockings lies across the cutout 5 of the table, between the tines 8 of the fork 7. The motor 23 is now switched on, and the drive via the shaft 9 starts to rotate the fork, the speed of rotation being either constant or variable. The fork rotates as long as it takes to wind thereon the stockings. During this operation the two jaws 10 apply a tension to the stockings while they are rotated onto the fork, thus attaining a firm and tensioned wind or fold of the stockings.

It should be mentioned again that the width of the folded stockings is in accordance with the width of the folding fork, which can be varied by using different-size, interchangeable forks (e.g., 208 208", FIG. 5), or by using forks with an adjustable width (e.g. fork 108, FIG. 4, made adjustable by fastener 110 seated in an elongated slot 112 in one tine and passing through an opening in the other tine), so that the width of the final package of stockings can be adjusted to a desired dimension. This is of special importance since the exterior appearance of a packet of stockings is subject to variations dictated by fashion. The for-ks, the width of which can be adjusted, can thus be used for attaining packages of different widths without altering anything else in the machine.

After the winding is completed, the fork is in horizontal position. In this position the distance between the two jaws 10 is equal to double the width of the wound-on layers plus the thickness of the fork, and the inner sides of the jaws apply themselves directly onto the wound material. Under the circumstances the removal of the wound material occurs against the pressure (which, although small, is still present) of the jaws against the fork. Sometimes this would be undesirable should the product be of delicate nature and easily damaged. However, such a likelihood can easily be met. It is sufiicient if the diameter of the fork shaft is dimensioned in the vicinity or in the range of the junction between the shaft and the tines in such a way, say conically, that the contact areas of the jaws when the fork is positioned horizontallycontact the shaft and not the wound material. Of course the final position of the jaws in relation to the fork should be appropriately fixed.

After the winding is completed, the jaws 10 are removed from the range of the fork by operating pedal 21. The table is then swung from its position 1' into position 1" in which the wound-on pair of stockings can be removed in several ways. One way would be that the pair of stockings, after having pushed back the jaws, are removed from the fork 7 by hand or automatically, and conveyed to the roller 29, which latter conveys the pair of stockings via the conveyor 30 to a welding machine which welds together two layers of foil of plastic material wound off a roller 31, with the interposition of a pair of stockings, sealing the edges of the foil on the pair of stockings thus preparing a fully closed package. Another possibility would be that after the winding, when the spade-shaped jaws 10 are still within the range of the horizontal fork 7, a ready bag-shaped packing element is pulled over the jaws 10, and only then the jaws 10 are made to withdraw. Now the bag together with the wound stockings can be removed easily from the fork 7 and only one open side of the bag has to be welded or closed by adhesive. This way of removal is recommended for smaller installations which usually buy the packing elements in ready state.

After the removal of the stockings from the fork 6, the latter has to be turned, by means of pedal 28, through into the vertical position. The working table onto which a pair of stockings has been placed is now swung from position 1" into position 1', and the whole described operation is repeated.

What is claimed is:

1. A folding machine for strip-shaped textile material such as stockings, characterized in that it comprises a folding fork having a pair of spaced tines and rotatable about a horizontal axis, a drive for rotating said fork, a table formed with a cutout, feed means for feeding the strip-shaped textile material to said table, and a pivotable mounting for said table enabling same to swing about a vertical axis from a first position wherein it is disposed adjacent to said feed means for receiving the textile material fed thereby, to a second position wherein said fork is disposed within the table cutout and in position to fold the textile material carried by the table.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, further characterized in that it includes two spade-shaped jaws, the folding fork including a fork shaft and being positioned between said two spade-shaped jaws, the latter being substantially parallel with said fork shaft and being spring-urged against the fork.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2, further characterized in that said two jaws are slidable on said fork shaft.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 2, further characterized in that said drive is adapted to stop the rotation of the fork in a horizontal position after the conclusion of the folding, and further in that there is included a ratchet wheel for turning said fork through 90 to a position where new material can be introduced.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 2, further characterized in that there is provided a sleeve turnable on the shaft of the fork, and two oppositely disposed levers, one end of each of said sleeve being hingedly connected with said levers, said levers being urged toward one another by a spring, each lever being hingedly connected with one of said two spade-shaped jaws.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,905,368 9/1959 Runyan 223-46 2,909,308 10/1959 Darata 22346 3,310,930 3/1967 Korch et a1. 53-117 M-ERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner 

